Darfur fugitive finally appears in court June 17, 2020 AFTER 13 years as a fugitive, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman, commonly known as Ali Kushayb, has finally made his first appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur in Sudan. […]
Cote d’Ivoire awaits Gbagbo’s next move June 9, 2020 IVORIANS are awaiting the next move of their former President, Laurent Gbagbo, following the removal of restrictions that had been placed on him and his ex-Minister of Sports and Youth, Charles Blé Goudé, after being freed on all charges of crimes against humanity by the International […]
Call for ceasefire in African conflicts amid COVID-19 May 26, 2020 THERE must be an “immediate continent-wide ceasefire and cessation of hostilities [that would be] crucial for the well-being of citizens” in Africa during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Ethiopian Ambassador to South Africa, Dr Shiferaw Teklemariam, has urged. He said corona-virus would lead to […]
Rights group condemns ‘abduction’ of women politicians in Zimbabwe May 18, 2020 LAST week’s “abduction” of three women members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe has been condemned by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC). MDC MP Joana Mamombe and Young Assembly leaders Cecelia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were allegedly […]
‘COVID-19 emergency powers create human rights challenges’ May 3, 2020 WHILE governments around the world moved swiftly to counter the coronavirus, the emergency powers that were handed over to the various security forces are being seen as a threat to human rights. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has published a report on the need to make […]
COVID-19 ‘immunity passport’ won’t work for now -WHO April 27, 2020 THE World Health Organisation has said that there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies would be protected from a second infection. A WHO guidance said: “Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the […]
ECOWAS plans for economic fallout from COVID-19 April 26, 2020 LEADERS of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have come up with plans for economic recovery after the global COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. During their video conference last week, they agreed to issue long-term treasury bills and bonds “to finance critical […]
Fact-checkers battle spread of coronavirus misinformation April 13, 2020 COVID–19 misinformation is spreading worldwide, but fact-checkers are fighting hard to put things right. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford in the UK has just published a new piece of research on how misinformation about the pandemic is spreading […]
Climate change conference postponed due to COVID-19 April 13, 2020 THE 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) set to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed due to COVID-19. This decision has been taken by representatives of the COP Bureau of the UN, with […]
Coronavirus halts Gambian Truth Commission April 8, 2020 AFTER reaching the halfway mark of its two-year mandate, the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in The Gambia has halted proceedings and outreach programmes because of the coronavirus. With the TRRC’s planned Ramadan break in April, the Commission says it is expecting public hearings to resume […]